Searching trawler for Bahamas 2013 with 2kids

[yannick298]

Hi,

We are targetting Bahamas somewhere in 2013.

Im presently searching slowly the best Trawler for my family (4persons),** we have two young kids ,* ideally they need separate beds.

The defever 44 seem to be a good choice and also the Mainship 430, is there any other brand , size, to considered?***

price range ~150k$

*

I have a Fourwinns 298 2003 to sell first before or to give as a trade.

*

So my question which Trawler do youthink is the best with 2young kids ?

thanks a lot

 

[psneeld]

yannick298 wrote:
Hi,

We are targetting Bahamas somewhere in 2013.

Im presently searching slowly the best Trawler for my family (4persons),** we have two young kids ,* ideally they need separate beds.

The defever 44 seem to be a good choice and also the Mainship 430, is there any other brand , size, to considered?***

price range ~150k$

*

I have a Fourwinns 298 2003 to sell first before or to give as a trade.

*

So my question which Trawler do youthink is the best with 2young kids ?

thanks a lot

*Do you have any cruising experience with that 29 fourwinns or any other cruiser?* There is no such thing as* a trawler that's best because of 2 young kids... what are you looking for safety or comfort?

 

[yannick298]

Because we anticipate 1year on the boat I will say more comfort then safety.**

My kids dont need a safety boat.****

i check on yachtworld.com** but dont find something good at this time.** any good broker to refer ?

 

[psneeld]

Unless you are familiar with serious cruising, anchoring, boat repair, navigation, seamanship...etc...etc

AND based on such a broad question....wow...almost afraid to recommend anything.*

Again...how much sustained cruising have you done?

*

 

[yannick298]

We ride a trip of 5weeks every summer since 10years (with kids).

Managing a trip to Bahamas is not a problem for me.*** I have a lot of experiences.**

 

[KJ]

yannick298 wrote:
*

The defever 44 seem to be a good choice*

*

*Nice boat.* Here is a*website you might want to check out*******KJ

*



*


-- Edited by KJ on Thursday 16th of February 2012 12:07:38 PM

 

[Daddyo]

Yannick,

Check your private messages

 

[Woodsong]

I, like a few others on here, am a broker. How old are your kids right now? Boy and girl? Age makes a big difference. Older trawlers will typically have ladders instead of molded stairs and these can be a real hazard for young kids. You will want to look not only for quality build but design. We have 2 young children (8 and 9 now). When they were younger a big issue for us was safety and ability for them to navigate safely around the boat without falling and getting hurt. Need more info on ages and whether you are looking at cruising or just anchoring and what your main objectives are. It could be that a trawler in the traditional sense is not the best fit for what you actually want to do.
In a nutshell though, especially with kids, the bigger the boat the happier all parties will be. if you are talking about living aboard, 3 staterooms would be great so each child has their own space. We spend about 120-150 nights a year aboard our boats. The more personal space away from everything will mean happier people for a long time being aboard. Usually I recommend get the smallest boat that will work for you. With kids and being aboard a lot, unless your kids sit still and are not hyper, usually the bigger the boat the happier you all will be.

 

[yannick298]

My kids :*** girl = 7 , boy = 9years old.**** I dont think ladder is a big issue for them.

since 1year the defever 44 is the boat in my mind (I talked a lot with Linda Strathmans , Great looper) and they did the Great loop with 2 boys on a defever 44.*** As per Linda the defever 44 is a good size to travel for a long period with kids, bikes, dinghy etc...

 

[Woodsong]

You can't go wrong with the Defever 44....great boat. Your kids are basically same age as ours and yes- they are past the age where ladders, etc. are a big issue so that frees you up a lot.

 

[yannick298]

http://www.yachtworld.com/privatela...rency=USD&access=Public&listing_id=74924&url=

*

Seem to be in good shape.

 

[Woodsong]

Are you going to be living aboard full time as a family for a year? 43' would start to feel small pretty quickly. 45' is about as small as I would want to go personally (that is the size of our boat).

 

[psneeld]

yannick298 wrote:
http://www.yachtworld.com/privatela...rency=USD&access=Public&listing_id=74924&url=

*

Seem to be in good shape.

*I have a 1988 albin that came from Florida and lived her whole life down there and in the water except for occasional haulouts.* the bottom was severely blistered and even some delamination issues down into the roving.* If she's a Florida boat...get a REAL good survey and maybe have it double checked unless you want to do the work.** If I wasn't doing it...it would be a $20,000 job

 

[JAT]

I PM'd you as well...

 

[Spirit Of The West]

I am new, But I can tell that your sujestion is sound and very informitive in a common sense kinda way...fareplay. I am not looking for a boat. I have a trawler that I just got and it need some serious TLC. but I came across your talk to that person looking to get a bout and I had fun reading your straightforward answer.


-- Edited by Spirit Of The West on Thursday 16th of February 2012 06:55:42 PM

 

[Woodsong]

guys...would be great to have replies here for all to read and learn from!

 

[Ruthless]

We did a Grand Banks 46 in the USVI with 4 teenagers and it was more than enough

 

[FF]

For only a year of projected ownership, the round trip (purchase , "upgrade" sell) might be costly.

There are many boats in the $30K-$60K area that will be fine in the Bahamas , that will have a fat lower round trip.